Season 3 Recap

Season 3 of the Not-So Pro Daily Chess League wrapped up recently, after 140 games in 10 matches and 1 individual tournament. 

The format for the season was points-based, with teams earning 1 point per game in matches, along with bonus points from the Solo Tournament. Each team played 4 matches starting over the course of 5 months, playing each other team once while having one "bye" round.

In the first round, both matches ended 4.5-3.5; the Computer Chess Wizards beat The Omelette, and Lunatic Rangers triumphed over Brave Pawns. In the latter match, @Falconchetto secured the victory with a nice win over @Idez9

In round 2, both matches also had the same score: 6-2. @WTolentino led the way for Lunatic Rangers against the United Players Of Chess.com with two tactical wins over @Twickenham2014.

Meanwhile, Computer Chess Wizards were having timeout issues. Both of their bottom 2 boards timed out in round 2, giving Brave Pawns an early 4-0 lead. @Typewriter44 and @ninjaswat tried to battle back on boards 1 & 2, but only managed to salvage 2 points. 

In round 3, Lunatic Rangers continued their winning ways in a 5.5-2.5 triumph over the Computer Chess Wizards, while The Omelette scored their first win, 5-3, over the United Players of Chess.com.

While this was happening, upsets were brewing in the Solo Tournament. The lowest rated player entering the tournament, @Samfeuillatre, went 5.5/6 to win Group 1.

All the players who qualified for the second round clinched some points for their respective teams, as the top 6 players in the tournament win points towards the final standings.

Back in the main event, The Omelette picked up their second win in a row, 6-2, over Brave Pawns.

The United Players of Chess.com nearly got their first win of the season against the struggling Computer Chess Wizards, but ended up with only a draw after a comeback win from @7ania7 secured a 4-4 tie

In the first 4 rounds, Lunatic Rangers scored 16 points, giving them a small lead over The Omelette. 

Those two teams were scheduled to play in the last round, which, along with the Solo Tournament, would end up deciding the champions.

In the second round of the Solo Tournament, WTolentino (Lunatic Rangers) cruised through Group 1 while Samfeuillatre (The Omelette) qualified for the finals against the odds by winning Group 2. 

In the finals of the Solo Tournament, both games had the same trajectory. Samfeuillatre got a better position out of the opening and capitalized on a blunder from WTolenino in the two games, meaning Samfeuillatre was the Solo Tournament Champion. Both games ended on August 13.

Brave Pawns won their round 5 match against UPOCC 4.5-3.5 to clinch third place. But the championship was entirely dependent on Lunatic Rangers vs The Omelette. LR was half a point ahead of TO in the standings, meaning The Omelette had to win the match in order to win the league. 

The first 3 games to finish were @Samfeuillatre vs @Idez9 (both games) and @WTolentino vs @Tornado1972. Samfeuillatre won both games to go 7/8 on the season, but WTolentino won with the black pieces to put the match score at 2-1. A few days after those games ended, the second game. between WTolentino and Tornado1972 ended in a draw, making the score 2.5-1.5 with a lead for The Omelette. @Spaghetti_Carbonara then took advantage of blunders from @brashfrank to take the lead, 3½-2½.

But it was a blunder from @brettkoz that was decisive— and @alefox985 was there to take advantage of it.

Brettkoz did win the other game, but it was too little too late. Lunatic Rangers had won the match, and with it, the league.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this season, and congratulations to the NSPDCL Champions, Lunatic Rangers! An announcement about Season 4 will be made in a few days.